Apparatus for treeing boots



(No Model.)

J.H .BURBANK. APPARATUS FOR. TREEING BOOTS.

' Patented June 20,!1882.

N. versus. mmmmgnpm. Waah nskm, n. c

, so as to present any portion of the boot desired UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE.

JOTHAM H. BURBANK, OF NORTH BBOOKFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS.

APPARATUS FOR TREEING BOOTS.

SPECTFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 259,811, dated June 20,1882.

Application filed October 29, 18 81. (N0 model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOTHAM HOWE BUR- BANK, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing in North Brookfield, in the county of Worcester andState of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements inApparatus for Treeing Boots, of which the following is a specification.

My improvementrelates to rub-sticks used in the process of 4 treein gboots, and apparatus for actuating the same. Treeingboots in theordinary manner by hand is an extremely laborious and tedious operation.The. boot being placed on the treeand the slush applied, the workmangrasps in both hands the rub-sticka piece of wood about fifteen orsixteen inches long having a handle at each end-and gives thewhole-surface of the boot, except the solo, a hard or'thorough rubbingto give the finish to the boot, necessitating a great expenditure ofstrength and time. I haveinvented a formof rub-stick which, thoughheldin the hands of the workman, and thus capable of carefulmanipulation, is made to rub the boot by special machinery, thus"relieving the workman of all work, except that of bearing down on and man ipulating the rub-stick. For this purpose I use a revolving rub-stickheld in the hands in the usual way, the handles being hollow to adaptthem to form bearings for the central revolving part, and to affordmeans of connectin g the revolvingrub-stick with a flexible shaft foractuating the same, said flexible shaft receiving motion from anothershaft or shafts, so arranged that the rub-stick can be freely moved inany direction desired, and held at any angle to operate on any portionof a boot. The boot-tree is adapted to be revolved at will,

to be operated on. In connection with the universally-flexible drivingmechanism, I may use a flexible rub-stick of hard rubber or coiled wire,as hereinafter described. V

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation showing therub-stick in position foroperation on aboot, and horizontal and verticalshafts for communicating motion to the flexible shaft. Fig. 2 is a topview of said horizontal shaft. Fig. 3 is a front view of the verticalshaft, showing also the method of connecting the same to the flexibleshaft. Fig. 4 is a detached view of the flexible shaft with therub-stick attached. Figs. 5 and flare views of my improved flexiblerub-stick.

1 represents my improved rub-stick, which may be of wood, vulcanizedrubber, metal, or other suitable material. It may be cylindrical inshape, or have the curved contour shown in Figs. 1 and 4.

2 2 are handles formed entirely separate from the rub-stick 1.

3 is a flexible, metal shaft made in the usual manner and connected tothe rub-stick 1 in either of two ways. The rub-stick may be providedwith a spindle at each end, which have bearing one in each of thehandles .2, and are held therein in any suitable manner. To one of thesespindles is attached the end of the flexible shaft, and this spindle mayfor this purpose be extended beyond the handle; or the flexible shaftmay extend completely through handles and rub-stick, being in this casefastened as shown in Fig. 4.. The bearings in the bundles aresufficiently large to allow of the free revolution of the shaft, and therub-stick is clamped or otherwise securely fastened to the said shaft.

. To allow of the more complete adaptation of the rub-stick as itrevolves to the varying contour of the boot I prefer to make itflexible. This may either be done by making it of a cylinder ofvulcanized rubber, or of flat rolled wire coiled in the form of acylinder, as shown in Fig. 5. When thus made the rub-stick will, asillustrated in Fig. 6, always present a hard and even surface to theboot, no matter what its contour, and no matter how fast the rubstick berevolved. The right is reserved to make such flexible rub-stick thesubject of separate application for Letters Patent.

The flexible shaft 3 is provided at one end with a tongue, 3, which iskeyed or otherwise secured within a socket in a spindle, 4, which hasbearing in thelowerend of verticalshaftor rod 5. The lower end of thesaid rod5 is forked, as shown in Fig. 3, and between these forks apulley, 6, is atflxed to spindle 4. The rod 5 is hung so as to turnfreely within a socket in a second rod, 7, which is forked at its upperend, and hung from a horizontal forked rod or arm,

8, a pin, 9, serving to pivot the two rods tobracket, 11, which isfirmly secured to the wall or other support. This bracket alsosupportsapulley having two faces, ora groove and face, one for receivinga cord or band from the counter-shaft, and one a cord or band, 12, fortransmitting motion to the pulley 10, from which cord or belt 13transmits motion to pulley 6, and so turns the shaft 3. This system ofpivotal shafts will be readily seen to form a universal joint, enablingthe power to be conveyed in any direction to the shaft 3, which by itsown flexibility permits of the rub-stick being turned at any possibleangle.

In Fig. 1 I have shown a boot applied to a tree,14. The tree may be ofcommon construction, and be supported on a bench, 15, incustomarymanner, and is so arranged that it may be turned to present anyportion of the bootupper to the action of the rub-stick at the will ofthe workman.

Operation. The boot beingin position on the tree and the slush applied,the machinery is started. The handles2 2 are grasped by the operator,and the rubber, having between one thousand and two thousand revolutionsper minute, applied with the necessary pressure to the boot. Therub-stick is moved from place to place on the boot as one part oranother is finished, and the tree rotated at will to bring an unfinishedportion of the boot on top.

Having thus described my invention, the following is what I claim as newtherein and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. In an apparatus for treeing boots, the rubstick having a centralrotary portion or rubher, and a handle at each end, \vhereou the saidrubber has bcarin g independently of other support, in combination withuniversallyflcxible driving mechanism for rotating the said rubber,substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. A rub-stick for finishing the uppers of boots and shoes, having acentral revolving portion or rubber, a handle at each end, whereou thesaid rubber has bearing, and a rotary flexible driving shaft passingthroughone of the said handles and rigidly attached to the said rubber,substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

8. In combination with a rub-sticklongitudinally flexible between itshandles,a universally-flexible driving mechanism for rotating the saidrub-stick, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. In combination with a rotary rub-stick and its flexibledriving-shaft, the universaljointed mechanism for transmitting motionfrom the counter-shaft, substantially as shown and described.

5. The mechanism for transmitting power from the counter-shaft to thetool being operated, consisting of a fixed bracket, 11, horizontal rod8, swiveled therein, socket 7, hinged to rod 8, rod 5, swiveled insocket 7, spindle 4, flexible shaft 3, and suitable belts and pulleys,all

arranged substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

JOTHAM HOWE BURBANK.

Witnesses:

LEONARD WARREN, NATHAN WARREN.

